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4 CENTRAL CANTERBURY NEWS, MAY 20, 2015 Resistance to quarry worth effort By SAM SHERWOOD Rolleston residents can take a ‘‘minor victory’’ after losing a battle with a quarry company over a proposal to double its operation After a lengthy battle, costing residents more than $100,000, Road Metals was granted permission to use the road in 2012. Road Metals’ manager Murray Francis had originally requested to increase the number of truck movements along Wards Rd from 200 to 500 per day, and to increase its quota of aggregate from 160,000 cubic metres per year to 500,000 per year. Under the new consent the com- pany will be able to increase gravel extraction from 160,000 cu m to 320,000 cu m; truck movements will also be increased from no more than 200 per day to no more than 400 per day with a three month rolling average of 350 per day. The quarry may also operate until 1pm on Saturdays, instead of the previous closing time of noon. The company also requested truck movements to and from the quarry to be allowed to start from 6.30am but this was denied and the existing 7am start was maintained. Rolleston Rural Residents Inc president Simon Lock said he had ‘‘mixed’’ emotions regarding the consent. ‘‘I’m obviously disappointed at the increase that the commissioner has seen fit to allow additional operations. ‘‘But on the plus side, the changes that are going to have the biggest effects on residents have not been allowed. Mainly early morning noise and additional movements before 7am and most of those were not granted.’’ Lock said he took the result as a ‘‘minor victory’’. ‘‘They didn’t get exactly what they wanted but I thought the commissioner did a fair and well considered job, took his time and thought it through. It was worth the time and effort residents put into opposing it.’’ The Central Canterbury News contacted Francis, who said he would not comment until after the appeal deadline. NEWS Road Metals quarry owner Murray Francis. Family home tax exempt Come and find out what the new Selwyn-Waihora water rules mean for you The Selwyn-Waihora Zone Committee is inviting community members to a briefing on the new local rules and limits for water use, land management and farming. The rules outlined in Variation 1 of the proposed Land and Water Regional Plan will affect how nitrogen loss limits are managed, what land can be used for, and restricts water transfers. At the community meetings you can find out what these changes mean for you and ask any questions you have. Selwyn-Waihora Variation 1 community meeting details 7:30pm, Thursday 21 May at Darfield Community Centre, North Terrace For more information www.ecan.govt.nz/selwyn-waihora Brought to you by Environment Canterbury working with Young couples wanting to do up a house to live in need not despair over the Government’s tightened tax rules – the family home, and improvements made to it, are exempt from the measures. Prime Minister John Key announced on Sunday that the Government planned a law change making residential property bought and sold within two years subject to a capital gains tax, unless it was the family home, inherited, or needing to be sold because of a relationship split. People caught by the tax were those ‘‘that deliberately buy a property where the sole purpose of buying it is to make money – and that’s fair enough’’. Revenue Minister Todd McClay said improvements to investment houses or land were captured by the proposal to tax residential property bought and sold within two years. Buying land for $100,000 and putting a $400,000 house on it meant the price of the property was $500,000. If it were sold for $700,000, that meant a capital gain of $200,000 as the tax applied to the original purchase price of land, plus the improvements. But Key said a young couple buying a house and doing up the kitchen could still hope to make money when they eventually sold the property, as under the IRD rules their intention was for that to be their family home. ‘‘All over New Zealand people do up a house, and of course most people do up a house hoping they’re going to make money out of it and it’s a nicer place to live, but their intention is for that to be their family home, and I would have thought that was the overriding thing.’’ A speculator buying a house in Auckland for $800,000 – the current average – and selling it for $1 million would pay tax on their capital gain of $200,000 at their own personal income rate. For someone earning over $70,001 – the top tax bracket – that would be 33 per cent. Key said at his post-Cabinet press conference on Monday that the move was about removing ambiguity around laws that were already in place, not creating a new tax. The two-year ‘‘bright-line’’ period was about creating clarity around people’s obligations, and removing the current subjective test which required Inland Revenue to establish whether the investor had the intention of making a capital gain on the purchase and sale. People who had been cheating the system would be on notice the rules had changed, Key said. If a person sold a property two years and one day after they had purchased it, they were still caught by the intention test in the law. ‘‘If you’re in that period, you pay – as long as you’re buying an investment property,’’ Key said. Beyond the two years, the situation reverted to the current law where a debate could be had with the IRD as to intention at the time of sale and purchase. The announcement is part of a suite of measures, alongside the Reserve Bank’s announcement of LVR restrictions – all coming into effect on October 1. THE MORTGAGE SHOP OFFERS YOU: • Competitive interest rates and lowest bank fees • A Flexible Home Loan that will make life easier for you • Professional advice for a Personalised Home Loan Call the mortgage shop Ph: 03 3252117 or email info@themortgageshop.co.nz Mobile: 027 647 0647 6695623AA